Former British Prime Minister Sir Edward Heath named in historic child sex abuse investigations

LONDON: Former British Prime Minister Sir Edward Heath has been named in the historic child sex abuse investigations in UK.
An independent police watchdog has launched a formal inquiry into claims that Wiltshire police did not properly investigate allegations of sexual offences against children involving the former Conservative prime minister.
The Wiltshire Police has now appealed for anyone who believes they may have been victim of the former PM.
The probe has been launched after claims made by a retired senior police officer that found the force’s handing of the original investigation, which dates back to the 1990s.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission said “The IPCC is to investigate allegations Wiltshire police didn’t pursue a prosecution when a person threatened to say Sir Edward Heath may have been involved in offences concerning children.”
Heath died aged 89 in 2005. He was the PM from 1970 to 1974.
The IPCC said allegations have been made that a criminal prosecution was not pursued, when a person threatened to expose that Sir Edward Heath may have been involved in offences concerning children.
A spokesperson for Wiltshire Police said “Following the announcement today regarding an independent investigation by the IPCC into allegations concerning how Wiltshire Police handled an alleged claim of child sex abuse made in the 1990’s, we are carrying out enquiries to identify if there are any witnesses or victims who support the allegations of child sex abuse”.
“On becoming aware of the information, Wiltshire Police informed the IPCC and later made a mandatory referral. The IPCC investigation will specifically consider how the Force responded to allegations when they were received in the 1990’s. Sir Edward Heath has been named in relation to offences concerning children. He lived in Salisbury for many years and we would like to hear from anyone who has any relevant information that may assist us in our enquiries or anyone who believes they may have been a victim”.
In what could be the biggest sexual scandal to hit Westminster, three British members of parliament (MPs) and three members of the House of Lords are believed to have been named in a dossier handed to police concerning investigations into the alleged Westminster paedophile ring.
The dossier has been compiled by Labour MP John Mann. It is believed to contain 22 high-profile figures deemed “worthy of investigation”.
Dr Jon Bird of the National Association for People Abused In Childhood (Napac) admitted recently that “it looks looked like the 10 politicians will at last face up to the accusations. The names of people in very high places - politicians, senior police officers and even some judges - have been going around as alleged abusers for a very long time”.
Britain’s home minister Theresa May meanwhile has announced an independent inquiry to look into how the state and other institutions have handled accusations of abuse over the past four decades.
May told the parliament “that in the 1980s the Home Office failed to act on allegations of child sex abuse. Public bodies and other important institutions have also failed to take seriously their duty of care towards children. We will do everything we can to allow the full investigation of child abuse and the prosecution of its perpetrators and we will do nothing to jeopardise those aims. We will make sure that wherever individuals and institutions have failed to protect children from harm, we will expose these failures and learn the lessons”.
May admitted that in recent times, Britain has seen appalling cases of organised and persistent child sex abuse. This includes abuse by celebrities like Jimmy Savile and Rolf Harris, as well as the systematic abuse of vulnerable girls in Derby, Rochdale and Oxford.
May added “Some of these cases have exposed a failure by public bodies to take their duty of care seriously and some have shown that the organisations responsible for protecting children from abuse – including the police, social services and schools – have failed to work together properly”.